Bairu Edges Reyes in San Jose Half Marathon

Monday, October 8, 2012, 12:00 am

By Peter Gambaccini

Photo of Simon Bairu by Photo Run

Simon Bairu, the pride of Regina, Saskatchewan and now part of coach Jerry Schumacher’s training group in Oregon, and Sergio Reyes, who represented the U.S. in the marathon at the 2011 IAAF World Championships, fought a tight battle at Sunday’s Rock ’n’ Roll San Jose Half Marathon before Bairu won by 2

[3]seconds in 1:03:28. "My coach told me to wait to until ten miles, but I got a little antsy early and wanted to test where everyone was at. I wasn't sure if I got the win or not until the very end," explained Bairu, who was a two-time NCAA cross country champion at the University of Wisconsin. "The most important part of the race was that I was able to finish strong. I really felt like I could have kept going a few more miles, which is what you want after a hard half marathon effort. This is a huge confidence booster and I'm excited for my next performance." According to a Tweet received by Canadian Running Magazine, there is a "90 percent chance" Bairu will be at the New York City Marathon on November 4. Reyes, meanwhile, improved his personal 13.1-mile best by 35 seconds. "Nothing in my training really indicated I was ready to run a PR, but I did have a sensation that there might be some surprises today,” he noted, adding, “it felt like we were doing an all-out sprint running side by side the last three miles." Scott Bauhs, who had been part of a lead pack of four through the first half of the race, ended up third. He’s doing the New York City Marathon, and will go up to Mammoth Lakes to train with fourth place London Olympic marathon finisher Meb Keflezighi, "who's on fire right now. It's unbelievable he could come back from the Olympics and be in what seems to me like the best shape of his life," commented Bauhs, The women’s winner was Bay Area Track Club member Clara Horowitz Peterson, who was unchallenged as she covered the course in 1:12:52. Peterson, a former Duke University standout who was 15th in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, is training for December’s California International Marathon.